National Endowment for the Humanities
Tales of the Supernatural
Scary stuff! Whether approached as the first horror story or a "serious imaginative exploration of the human condition," Frankenstein continues to engage readers. Here's a packet of activities that uses Mary Shelley's gothic novel to...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Unit 3: Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Teacher Guide
The Core Knowledge Foundation offers this teacher guide to Robert Louis Stevenson's gothic novel about the duality of humankind. The 128-page guide includes a unit introduction, unit calendar, nine scripted lesson plans, assessments with...
Novelinks
Wuthering Heights: Anticipation Guide
Before beginning a reading of Wuthering Heights, class members respond to a series of statements on an anticipation guide.
Prestwick House
Frankenstein
Science Fiction? Gothic Novel? Romance? No matter the label, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein has captured the imagination of readers for over 200 years. Whether used to test how well readers remember the key events and characters in...
Annenberg Foundation
Gothic Undercurrents
Terror, mystery, excitement. American writers of the 19th century, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Emily Dickinson, used these elements to create morally ambiguous tales that challenged the prevailing belief in...
Simon & Schuster
Curriculum Guide to: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The activities in a curriculum guide to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein provide readers with an opportunity to explore various concepts in depth. First, groups research controversial scientists, examine their work, and decide whether or not,...
Curated OER
Dracula: Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA)
“There are often dangers from snow and wolves and night.” Bram Stoker’s “Dracula’s Guest,” which may or may not have been the first chapter of the original Dracula manuscript, is the focus of a Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA).
Penguin Books
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Mary Shelley ’s Frankenstein
Contrary to popular belief, the monster's name in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is not Frankenstein. A teacher's guide for the novel helps readers make sense of key details in the text, define vocabulary words, and discuss prominent...
Great Books Foundation
Discussion Guide for Jane Eyre
The ambiguity in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre makes the novel a perfect choice for a shared inquiry discussion. Readers respond to open-ended questions with evidence drawn directly from the text.
PBS
Exploring the Drive to Create in Frankenstein
Is it hubris that drives the creative process? Is it the desire to be remembered long past death? An interactive asks readers of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and Percy Shelley's poem "Ozymandias" to consider what this wife and...
Phantom of Opera
The Phantom of the Opera: Ideas for Research and Discussion
You could spend a full day discussing The Phantom of the Opera and not scratch the surface, but a set of lessons about the literary elements and themes of the musical production is a great start. Young thespians build upon the background...
Curated OER
Charles Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities
Twenty questions challenge the reader of A Tale of Two Cities. Moving beyond mere reading comprehension, this quiz looks at biographical information and writing style as well as plot structure and action. Use at the end of the novel as a...
Curated OER
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
For this literature worksheet, students respond to 25 short answer and essay questions about James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
The French Lieutenant's Women - Essay Questions
For this literature worksheet, students respond to 14 short answer and essay questions about John Fowles's The French Lieutenant's Woman. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
Dracula - Essay Questions
In this literature worksheet, students respond to 7 short answer and essay questions about Bram Stoker's Dracula. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
Tales of the Supernatural
Students explore the origins and development of a literary genre. They investigate how shared imaginative concerns link the members of a literary period and compare works of literature from different eras.
Curated OER
The French Lieutenant's Women Quiz
In this online interactive reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 15 multiple choice questions about John Fowles's The French Lieutenant's Woman. Students may submit their answers to be scored.
Curated OER
???The Hell of Mirrors??? by Edogawa Rampo
Students read and analyze the story "The Hell of Mirrors," by Edogawa Rampo. They watch a video excerpt, answer discussion questions, construct a periscope, complete handouts, define key vocabulary terms, take a quiz, and write a book...
Virtual Salt
Visual Salt: Elements of the Gothic Novel
This site gives a listing and description of the typical elements usually found in gothic novels. It also provides a list of example vocabulary typically found in gothic novels.
Washington State University
Washington State University: Literary Movements: Gothic, Novel, and Romance
This site defines and identifies characteristics for the Romance, the novel, and the Gothic novel. Uses good examples to distinguish between these genres.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Gothic Undercurrents [Pdf]
This document is a guide to an Annenberg video, but it contains a wealth of information that is also useful independently. These thirty-four pages offer background information and activity suggestions relating to Gothic undercurrents in...
Washington State University
Washington State University: Literary Movements: Gothic, Novel, and Romance
This site distinguishes between novels and Romances and examines the characteristics of the novel, the Romance, and the Gothic novel.
Other
Zittaw Press: Gothic Literature
Explore Gothic literature by following links on the genre's canon, trade, authors, reading, poetry, and resources.
British Library
British Library: Discovering Literature: Romantics & Victorians the Gothic
Gothic fiction has intrigued and unsettled readers for more than two centuries. These articles research how these works reflect the political, social, and cultural contexts in which they were written.